Champions Bath ready to start BUCS Super Rugby title defence with Freshers’ Week home showdown against Loughborough
After winning a historic league and cup double last season, University of Bath Head of Rugby Aaron James has challenged his BUCS Super Rugby squad to keep improving during the 2026-27 campaign.
The men’s 1st XV are gearing up for an exciting Freshers’ Week showdown to start their title defence as they entertain old rivals Loughborough – their nearest challengers on both fronts last season – on the 3G Pitch at the Team Bath Sports Training Village on Wednesday 23rd September (6.30pm kick-off, free admission).
Going into a season as champions is a new experience for Bath, sponsored by Bath Building Society and Rengen, and James is keen to see how his players, both returning heroes and new recruits, handle the pressure.
“The expectation has changed now,” said James. “We’ve gone from the never-made-its to the nearly-made-its to the finally-made-its. It was a great feeling and we want to replicate that but it gets harder. The pressure and expectation is a wee bit higher and there are a lot of people saying they are going to knock us off the top, which is great.
“We want to enjoy the experience of all working together to hopefully finish in the top four. That is our first focus, like every season, because that gives us a shot at the championship. It would be great to win the league title again but ultimately we want to be in contention for that final in Newport.
“I know it sounds a bit cliched but we are just going to try and keep improving the performance culture around our fitness, our physicality and our skills. If we can keep doing that, win or lose, we will be on the right track.
“Lots of things change every year in uni rugby. We’ve lost some players but we had quite a young squad last season and six first-year students played in the cup final. We’ve got some new faces coming in and other players developing through the club, players like Will Keylock (pictured top) who is going to be one of our co-captains this season. We’ve got a reputation as being one of the best at developing players over the years, our history shows that, and we want to keep that going.”
Number 8 Keylock is one of four students – along with Rocky Prowse, Isaac Sprenger and Jacob Yates – to have joined the Bath Rugby Scholar Programme this season after impressing in BUCS Super Rugby.
Watch the full interview with Aaron James on the BUCS Super Rugby YouTube channel:
Entry to the Loughborough match, and all home fixtures on the 3G Pitch, is free for spectators. Head through the Sports Training Village to the Sports Café concourse, then take the stairs to the right and follow the track past the hockey pitches.
Top picture credit: BUCS/James Andrews.
